Rhetoric vs. Reality:

The Unacceptable Use of Cash Bail by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner arrived in office in January 2018 promising to end cash bail in Philadelphia. The following month, his office announced “bail reform phase one,” which tweaked the bail practices of DA Krasner’s predecessors and resulted in “no detectable effect on pretrial incarceration” in Philadelphia. For two years, nothing changed: DA Krasner’s representatives continued requesting bail, and continued caging Philadelphians - overwhelmingly Black - for their inability to pay a ransom.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Philadelphia earlier this year, public health experts warned that jails and prisons would be viral hotspots. In response, DA Krasner instituted a new cash bail policy, one he insisted would “decouple pretrial incarceration from an ability to pay.” Under the new policy, in every case initiated his office would make one of two bail requests: 1) release without payment (no cash bail), or 2) $999,999 bail.

We analyzed 451 randomized bail hearings between March 21 and May 21, 2020 to examine the effects of this policy in practice. Read our full report.